


Big Girl, Little Girl

by orphan_account



Series: Lena [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 01:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10776717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The time that Lena Luthor was transformed into a child was when Alex Danvers realized how truly broken was the CEO beneath the ever-present mask of strength and indifference.





	Big Girl, Little Girl

It had not been easy for Alex to accept that her younger sister was dating a Luthor. Despite being aware that Lena had done nothing but help and seemed to be always trying to prove herself different from the rest of her family, the older Danvers could not help but worry. However, Kara was happy with Lena. The younger Danvers practically shone in the presence of the CEO and the smile that appeared on her face whenever she saw Lena was large enough to look painful.

Kara was happy with Lena and that was the only reason Alex accepted the relationship, although she remained cautious with the CEO. She did not like Lena, but she did her best to endure her.

Therefore, it was for this reason that Alex despised the day Kara appeared at her door with an eight-year-old child with familiar green eyes.

“What the hell?” Alex questioned as soon as she recognized Lena Luthor in the form of a child hiding behind Kara. It was the agent's week off, J’onn insistence, but of course she would not have any rest.

“Alien weapon.” Kara explained. “I've already taken her to the DEO for examination, and Winn said he'll need the weapon that did this to reverse the effect. I'll have to go and capture the alien, but I can’t leave her alone. Also, the DEO isn’t a good place for children." It was then that Alex realized what Kara was asking for.

"You know I'm not good with children, Kara." The agent argued.

"Alex, please.” Kara insisted. “I trust you more than I trust anyone else in this world. There is no one else I would trust with Lena in this state. Please." At this point, Kara was desperate, and the agent could not find it in her to deny her sister’s request.

Alex sighed.

“Okay.”

…

For an eight-year-old, Lena Luthor was awfully quiet. Since Kara had left her in Alex's apartment, the child was sitting on the couch in a shrunken posture. Her shoulders were visibly tense and she was always staring at the floor, so that her dark, smooth hair covered her face. Her hands were held together in her lap and the tremor in them was visible.

Alex did not have much experience with children, but she knew they should not be like this. So she did what she thought was right. She called Maggie and explained the situation and, fortunately, minutes later, her girlfriend was at her door, willing to help.

Alex invited Maggie in and pointed to where Lena was. Analyzing the situation for a moment, the detective then went to the girl.

"Hi.” She greeted, but did not get an answer. “You're Lena, right?” Again, all that came was silence, but this time Lena shook her head in agreement. “My name is Maggie. I'm Alex's girlfriend.” She introduced herself, as her girlfriend had explained that the little Luthor did not have any memories from her adult life. “Are you hungry?"

Again, all Lena did was shake her head in a gesture of denial. Being completely honest with herself, Alex was beginning to worry about the silent state of the child. Lena was not talkative, certainly not like Kara, but she was not so absurdly silent and shy either.

Giving up for now, Maggie returned to where Alex waited.

"She's not very talkative, is she?" The detective asked.

"She hasn’t said a single word since Kara brought her here." The agent answered.

"Well, we know she's not mute.” Maggie stated. “What else do we know about her?"

In the face of this question, all that remained of Alex was silence. After all, it was then that she realized that she knew nothing about Lena. She knew what everyone knew, obviously, about her genocidal family and genius level intellect. However, she did not know about the woman's tastes, opinions and, most importantly at that time, her past.

She did not know anything about Lena's childhood and maybe that was the reason she stared at the quiet, clearly frightened child the CEO had once been.

…

It was night and Lena remained in her unchanging position on the couch, making no noise. Alex did not need much more than that to know that there was something terribly wrong with that child, and at last she gave up on just waiting for the now little Luthor's posture to change.

Then, for the first time since Lena had arrived, Alex approached her and sat down next to the girl on the couch. It was not lost to her how, in the face of closeness, Lena flinched, startled.

"Lena, please tell me what's wrong." Alex asked. It was not usual for her to worry about the CEO. In fact, the agent was always one of the first to accuse her when something remotely suggested that Lena might be similar to her genocidal family. However, now it was different. Alex was not looking at the imposing and strong CEO of L-Corp, but at a frightened child.

"Nothing is wrong, Miss." It was the first time Lena had spoken since coming to the apartment, and the words were said in a voice so broken and almost inaudible that Alex could barely hear.

"Yes, it is!” Alex snapped, although she have readily regretted seeing how the girl flinched. “I'm sorry. I didn’t want to yell at you.” The words came with a sigh. “I’m just worried. Please just tell me what's wrong and what I can do to fix it." She pleaded.

Finally, Lena looked up, her green eyes meeting directly with Alex's brown ones. Although she was not antisocial and had friends, Alex did not have excessive contact with many children other than Kara, but even her younger sister was older when she had met her than Lena was now. However, the older Danvers knew that no child should have the broken look she saw in Lena's green eyes, which were bright with unshed tears.

"Nothing is wrong, Miss." Lena repeated.

"Alex." The agent corrected.

"What?" The child asked in confusion.

"My name is Alex."

At no time since she had met her had Alex allowed Lena to call her by her first name. It had always been 'Agent Danvers' or 'Miss Danvers,' though Kara had insisted for Lena to be less formal. Alex had simply never given the CEO the chance to be more casual with her, so Maggie was surprised to see her girlfriend do this with the younger version of the last free Luthor.

…

The next day did not come as quickly as Alex would have liked, but it finally came. Kara called early to tell her that, along with the DEO, she was still tracking the alien that had done that to Lena, though she still could not guarantee a deadline during which Alex would have to take care of the CEO.

Luckily, Alex had Maggie, who at around eight o'clock in the morning finally managed to get Lena out of the room in which she had slept. The detective led the little Luthor to the table and instructed her to sit in one of the chairs as she helped Alex make breakfast.

"Do you have any preference?" Maggie asked with a smile. In response, Lena simply shook her head.

Everything was going well, despite Lena's timid, silent demeanor. However, peace in the environment seemed to break along with the glass dish that the little Luthor accidentally dropped when she got up to take it to the sink and had her shoulder touched by surprise by Maggie.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry. I didn't-"The child kept repeating, alternating glances between Maggie and Alex with a kind of horror that no child should ever know. She stopped only when, at last, Alex recovered from the shock and interrupted her.

"Hey, it's okay. It's just a plate.” The older Danvers assured, approaching Lena carefully, seeing as the child was still scared. “You’re not in trouble.”

“I’m not?” Lena asked in confusion.

“No.” Alex answered. “Why did you expect us to get angry at something as simple as that?” She exchanged a look with Maggie as she asked, only to see that the detective looked as shocked as she felt, before turning to Lena again.

“Nothing.” The child promptly said.

“Lena, did someone hurt you?” Maggie asked after a moment of silence. Alex's stomach rumbled with the question, because, by Lena's condition, she did not need any other answer.

Again, Lena merely shook her head from side to side, always silent. But Alex knew it was a lie. She wondered if Lena had had to tell this same lie to other people during her real childhood, if anyone had cared enough to ask why the little Luthor was so quiet, frightened, and estranged.

…

It was only on the third day of the little Luthor's stay at her house that Alex found something that caused a positive reaction on Lena. Maggie had suggested that somehow they might get some activity with Lena, something that would make the child interact with them. The choice, in the end, was chess, considering that, although as a child, Lena Luthor possessed a brilliant mind.

It was the first time Lena had smiled since Kara had brought her to Alex's apartment.

…

On the night of the fourth day, Alex woke up. Her throat was dry and scratched and the heat felt suffocating. Maggie and she had been sleeping on the couch since Kara had brought Lena to the apartment. Then, careful not to wake the sleeping detective, Alex stood up.

She was heading for the kitchen when she heard sobs. At first, she turned to Maggie, but the detective was still asleep. Then her eyes went to the door of her room, where Lena was. With silent footsteps, the agent headed there and opened the door slowly, peering into what was going on inside.

Lena was lying on the bed, curled under the sheets. Frowning, Alex approached the girl.

"Lena, are you okay?" She asked worriedly as she knelt beside the bed where the child was.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, Miss-”Lena stopped herself as she realized what she was about to say and then corrected it. “Alex."

"You didn’t wake me up.” Alex assured. “Are you okay? Why are you crying?" She asked as she brought a tentative hand to the tears on the little Luthor’s face. Alex noticed then that this was the first time she had seen Lena cry. The CEO, ever so strong and sure of herself, had never shown weakness like that.

"I'm not crying." Lena insisted, putting her hands to her face to wipe away the tears.

"Yes, you are. I can see it.” Alex argued, though he promptly regretted seeing the girl cringe. “What happened?"

"Please don’t hurt me." Lena’s request shocked the older Danvers.

"What?"

"Don’t hurt me, please."

"Why would I hurt you?" Alex asked, still shocked.

"Mother doesn’t like it when I cry.” Lena explained. “She said crying is a weakness and that Luthors should never show weakness."

"Crying is not weakness. You can cry if you want to.” The agent answered. “Lena, did she ever hurt you?" The mere chance made Alex's blood boil. Because Lena, this Lena, was just a child. What could Lillian have done to her?

"She said I needed to learn." At that, Alex wanted to vomit. How could anyone do such a thing with a child?

"Do you want me to stay here with you?" Alex then suggested, surprised at herself, though unrepentant.

"You don’t have to bother."

"It's not a bother.” Alex assured. “Wait a minute.” She asked, then stood up. Carefully she lay on the bed next to Lena and hesitantly brought the child into her arms. Surprisingly, Lena did not object, her small hands gripping Alex's blouse as if her life depended on it. “Good night, kid."

"Good night, Alex." Lena's response came, and for the first time her voice did not sound broken.

…

The next morning, when Maggie woke up, Alex was nowhere to be seen. Worried that something had happened, the detective went to check on Lena. What she found brought a smile to her face. Both Alex and Lena were still asleep. By the way Alex hugged the child protectively, the little Luthor might as well be a little sister to the agent.

…

It took seven days for Kara and the DEO to finally track down and capture the alien, and for Winn to modify the weapon used against Lena to produce the reverse effect.

During that week, Alex got to know more about Lena Luthor than she had ever thought. As she had first realized, the girl was very quiet and frightened, always tense. There were very few moments when the child allowed herself to relax, and in most of these, a chess game was involved. Lena had night terrors, which seemed to settle down when someone was keeping her company, which led Alex and Maggie to sleep in the room with her. The girl was also extremely hard on herself and she was too nervous when she did something she thought was wrong, and she cringed as if she were about to get hurt. Alex never wanted to find Lillian Luthor and make her suffer so much as when she saw Lena apologize for not intentionally cutting herself with a knife and staining the floor of Alex's apartment.

When Kara finally came to get Lena to take her to the DEO and reverse the effect of the alien weapon, it was painful for both Alex and Maggie to watch the child leave. To their surprise, as well as Kara's, Lena hugged them both and thanked them for taking care of her before finally following Supergirl out of the apartment.

…

Maggie was in Alex's apartment when they finally saw Lena Luthor again. This time, standing at the door, she was an adult, as they knew her, without much trace of the frightened child she had been. However, now that the detective and the agent knew what to look for, they could not help but notice Lena's guarded posture and the broken look she hid behind the friendly smile she was displaying at that moment.

"How are you?" Surprisingly, Alex was the first to break the silence. For someone who had despised the Luthor woman several days ago, she had missed the girl she cared for a whole week.

"I’m fine.” Lena assured. “Kara told me what happened.” Alex and Maggie exchanged a glance, wondering if Lena would remember what happened that week before turning her attention to the CEO. “I don’t remember anything, but she said that the two of you took care of me. I needed to thank you."

"It was nothing." Maggie assured her, inwardly disappointed that the woman did not remember what had happened, though she thought perhaps that was for the best.

"Yes, it was.” Lena retorted. “Thank you. Really." The way she spoke reminded Alex of the child she had cared for the past week. Lena seemed genuinely grateful and surprised that someone cared to take care of her and that was something that broke the agent’s heart.

"You're welcome.” Without restraining herself, Alex pulled Luthor woman into a hug.

For a few seconds, Lena remained paralyzed, obviously shocked by the gesture, before hugging Alex back. It was clear that she had never expected anything like this from the older Danvers, especially since the agent had always made it clear that she did not trust her.

The hug lasted a few more minutes before Alex finally pulled away. Lena stated that she needed to return to L-Corp and said goodbye to the couple. However, she had not distanced herself much when Alex's voice sounded again, catching her attention.

“Lena?" The Luthor woman stopped walking and turned back to Alex and Maggie.

"Yes?" The CEO raised an eyebrow.

"Welcome to the family." Alex smiled. Surprised, Lena simply smiled and nodded before resuming her way. Alex and Maggie watched her distance herself.

Watching the silhouette of the CEO become increasingly distant, Alex reflected on what had happened in recent days. For too long, she had judged Lena for her family's sins when Lena had probably been the one most harmed by Lex and Lillian. And seeing the frightened, lonely child Lena Luthor had been, Alex noticed that, although she was better disguised, the present Lena was not so different from the child the agent had lived with during the past week.

Finally, Alex recognized Lena Luthor instead of just her infamous surname. Lena was a woman who had faced many challenges in her life, but who had gone through all of them and had become a strong, independent woman despite the scars left by her past and her family. She was, in a way, extremely similar to Kara. And if Alex managed to make Kara feel loved and less lonely after losing her family and her planet, she could do the same with Lena.

After all, she now had another younger sister to look after.

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I keep doing this to myself?


End file.
